3 dead after snowstorm in J-K’s Kupwara

A group of people were moving on foot from Kupwara to Karnah when they were caught in a snowstorm near Khoni Nallah in Sadhna Top mountain pass area in north Kashmir on Monday night, a police official said. Those who managed to reach Sadhna Top informed the police and army about the three people who went missing.

Agencies

Srinagar, March 13:

Three persons died due to cold after they were caught in a snowstorm in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district, police said on Tuesday.

A group of people were moving on foot from Kupwara to Karnah when they were caught in a snowstorm near Khoni Nallah in Sadhna Top mountain pass area in north Kashmir on Monday night, a police official said. Three people went missing while others managed to reach Sadhna Top, where they informed the police and the army about the incident.

When the security forces reached the spot, they found three persons had died due to cold, the official said.

The deceased have been identified as Tahir Khoja, Khaliq Shiekh and Fareed Ahmad – all residents of Karnah, the official added. Fresh snowfall was reported in many areas in the higher reaches of the state on Monday. The road from Kupwara to Karnah is closed for traffic movement due to snow.

Meanwhile, after remaining shut for a day, the 294-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway was restored for one-way traffic on Tuesday.

The highway was closed on Monday afternoon, after it was blocked due to landslides between Ramban and Banihal sections of the highway.

The abrupt closure of the highway left around 5000 Jammu-bound vehicles stranded at north side Jawahar tunnel at Qazigund and Lower Munda area of the Valley.

Though men and material cleared the debris from the slide Monday night, snow accumulated around the Jawahar tunnel area resulted in slippery road conditions. After the snow-clearance operation on Tuesday morning, the highway was reopened for one-way traffic. It was learnt that around 3,000 Jammu-bound vehicles were cleared. Traffic personnel have been stationed at dozen odd locations to regulate the traffic, an official said.